Oliver's Return
by Harmony21
Summary: On his return to Starling, Oliver finds himself in a bit of trouble . . .


The world felt like a very different place than when he'd left it, Oliver decided as he entered the Foundry. It was empty, though he didn't expect anyone to be here, given that it was six in the morning.

He'd been gone for six weeks, far longer than he'd wanted to be, and all he wanted to do was see his teammates and tell them he was ok.

As Oliver moved towards the back where his living space was, he caught sight of the fern Felicity had gotten for him. His heart ached terribly at the sight of the plant.

Felicity. He wanted to see her the most, but dared not wake her up. Sighing, he put down his gear and hit the mattress, exhausted.

He was out as soon as his head hit the pillow - a very rare thing for him - and he slept soundly the rest of the day, dreaming of Felicity.

OFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFOFO

"Ooof!" Oliver woke with a start to something angry landing on top of him.

His eyes shot open and he was instantly alert; a moment later, he calmed at the sight of Felicity standing over him, a death glare gracing her face.

"What. The. Hell?" She hissed, baring her teeth.

Oliver frowned.

'Don't you play stupid with me!" She snapped; he could hear her loud voice approaching and hid a smile.

"I wasn't -"

He didn't get to finish because she slapped him hard on the arm. "Ow!" He mocked whined. "What was that for?"

She was wearing the death glare again. "You know exactly what for! Do you have any idea what Dig and Roy are going to do when they see you?"

"Shoot me?"

The irony of his words weren't lost on her, and despite her angry expression, he was glad to see her crack a small smile.

"You're not funny," she said and turned away towards her computers.

Oliver got to his feet and dressed. Felicity happened to be taking her seat as he put on a fresh shirt; glancing over, she gasped.

"Holy crap, your - they're -" Stunned, she motioned to his bare chest, devoid of scars and his Bratva tattoo. "Where'd they go?"

Oliver suddenly felt the need to cover up. The mysterious disappearance of his scars wasn't something he wanted to share just yet, partly because it had taken him time to get used to them being gone.

Hell, after being stabbed in the chest by Ra's al Ghul and kicked off a cliff, he'd had to adjust to being alive again.

He cleared his throat. "I'll explain later. Right now, I have to go see Thea. Where is she?"

"Upstairs, and I hope you're wearing protection, because she's pissed."

Considering what he'd seen his sister do before he'd left, he knew her to be a good fighter, so he took Felicity's warning seriously as he ascended the stairs.

He found Thea in the back storage room cum office, filing paperwork. Clearing his throat, he knocked and had to duck a flying stapler. It bounced harmlessly against the wall behind him and he grinned. Speedy had always had good aim.

"Trying to take me out?"

Like Felicity, Thea glared angrily at her brother. "You're an idiot!" She snapped. "Why did you confront him?"

Oliver's anger and protective instincts took over. "I had to, I wasn't going to risk you going up against Ra's."

"Oh I know all about that," she said, rising to her feet and stalking over to him. "Felicity told me what you are, and what you did."

Icy terror gripped him and he stumbled back. No no no, Thea wasn't to know, she was too precious to lose to his dark world.

But he realized she'd already entered his world. There was no point hiding it from her anymore.

"Felicity told you?" He choked out.

"Uh huh, and don't you say a word. I was angry Ollie because you kept it from me, but you had good reason to."

He stepped forward and hugged her close. "You didn't have the ability to survive my enemies Thea, and there are a lot of them."

"I know but neither does Felicity."

"She stays in the Foundry," Oliver pointed out.

Thea shrugged. "I can handle them now." He pulled back to stare at her. "I've been training with Diggle and Laurel. Turns out they're good teachers."

Stepping back, Oliver glanced around the office. "Well, if you're done here, why don't you come downstairs?"

Nodding, Thea followed him back down, where they met the rest of the team, and just like he'd thought, Dig and Roy were half upset, half elated to see him.

After patiently explaining about his scars, Oliver cajoled the men into a sparring match and as they watched, Thea and Felicity smiled at each other. "Look at that," said Felicity. "We're all back together again."

Thea agreed as Laurel arrived and joined in. They'd come together, from different backgrounds, to protect Starling City, and would continue to do so for as long as was necessary.

Forever and always.


End file.
